Release

James Bullough, 2014

This mural was created by James Bullough with the Handle with Care Project, a Dallas-based organisation that is dedicated to fighting slavery through the arts. They argue that graffiti and slavery have something in common - they are both done covertly and are illegal, yet when a wall is defaced it can be painted over, whereas there is no "easy solution" for the slavery survivor.

'Release' is the central piece in a city-wide mural project 'Deface a Wall, Not a Body', painted at the popular retail park Trinity Grove. The birds that are released in this mural are then painted all around Dallas. They symbolise survivors being released from captivity and rebuilding their lives over time. The murals of these free birds are titled 'Flycatcher'.

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Imagining Freedom

This is the first comprehensive collection of murals focused on modern slavery and human trafficking. Funded as part of the AHRC Antislavery Usable Past grant, it brings together anti-slavery murals from across the world and demonstrates the emergence of an anti-slavery mural movement from the early 2000s to today. The collection depicts modern slavery in general, alongside more specific types, including forced sexual exploitation and forced labour. It demonstrates the power of art to build community activism and imagine freedom.